GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) — Cruisin’ the Coast is underway, marking the 30th year of the classic car show. The event has grown from 374 vehicles in its first year to more than 10,000 now, according to Cruisin’ the Coast Executive Director Woody Bailey.
Participants are coming from 42 states and five foreign countries this year.
[ WATCH: Cruisin' the Coast 30th Anniversary Special ]
“Let’s go. Let’s cruise. It is exactly what’s going to happen,” Bailey said. “We have a great event lined up for everybody. I want everybody to get out and enjoy it.”
As of August 15, pre-registration stood at 9,274.
“That number is 802 ahead of where we were last year at this point in time before we opened up on-site registration. So that’s a big number. We’re usually a couple hundred ahead or so. We’ve never been this far ahead,” Bailey said.
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On-site registration opens Monday and continues through the week.
Bailey said some participants this year have registered for every Cruisin’ the Coast since the first year, and he added that one of the oldest registered cars this year is a 1913 Cadillac.
Crusin the Coast also brings heavy traffic to South Mississippi. Bailey recommended participants use the event program to plan around scheduled events.
“Learn what’s going on, where events are, and you can maneuver around them. I go to every event we do, and I don’t have a problem getting in and out of anything,” Bailey said.
[ WATCH: Cruisin’ the Coast memories throughout the years ]
As Cruisin’ the Coast grows, Bailey said he still wants the event to remain focused on quality.
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“I still like our big numbers. They are great. I still want to focus on us being still the best show as well. But we’ve got plenty of room for everybody, and it should work out fine,” Bailey said.
Bailey said organizers are aware of the low spots at Cruise Central in Jones Park in Gulfport that caused mud issues during rain last year.
“We had some of the same low spots we had back in ’96 that are still there. So we know where they are, and we’re going to work around them,” Bailey said.
Bailey said traffic will be directed around the trouble spots. He also said that improvements were made at the exit, which will now be concrete.
“That was one of our issues we had last year. But that’s not going to happen this year,” Bailey said.
The week-long event takes place across all 12 cities and three counties along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
“We’re scattered out. Really, it’s about a 55-mile run from Pascagoula to Waveland. So there are going to be plenty of areas,” Bailey said.
For a full schedule of events, click HERE.
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